Iran charges two actresses for not wearing mandatory headscarves in public
Katayoun Riahi and Pantea Bahram accused of posting photos online of themselves without hijab; pair could face fines or prison time
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran has charged two prominent actresses for publishing pictures of themselves flouting the country’s dress code for women, just weeks after announcing a crackdown on breaches, local media reported.
Police in Tehran have referred the case against Katayoun Riahi and Pantea Bahram to Iran’s judiciary, accusing them of “the crime of removing the hijab in public and posting photos on the internet,” the Tasnim news agency said late Monday.
If prosecuted, the pair could face fines or prison terms.
Earlier this month police said they would begin using “smart” technology in public places to crack down on women defying Iran’s compulsory dress code.
Last week, photos of Bahram, 53, went viral after she posed without a headscarf at a film screening, while Riahi, 61, posted several photos taken in public places around Tehran in which she did not wear a headscarf.
The requirement for women to wear the headscarf in public was imposed shortly after the Islamic Revolution of 1979.
On Sep 18, #KatayounRiahi, a prominent Iranian actress, bravely took off her scarf, criticized the killing of #MahsaAmini, & called Iran “a big prison.” She was then arrested and was tried in court on Jan 11. Be her voice. #مهسا_امینی #كتايون_رياحى #IranRevolution #IRGCterrorists pic.twitter.com/wjwwUHogWu
— Omid Memarian (@Omid_M) January 15, 2023
Iranian actress Pantea Bahram appeared unveiled on stage during the public screening of the last episode of a popular show she is playing in. This resistance is unstoppable. pic.twitter.com/TMm69nGBkw
— Peyman Jafari (@JafariPeyman) April 20, 2023
The number of women in Iran defying the dress code has increased since a wave of protests following the September 16 death in custody of Kurdish-Iranian Mahsa Amini, 22, for allegedly breaching it.
On April 16, authorities said they had closed 150 commercial establishments whose employees were not complying with the dress code.
Bahram and Riahi have won several awards at Iran’s leading cinema event, the Fajr International Film Festival.
In November, Riahi was released on bail after more than a week’s detention for posting photos to Instagram in solidarity with the Amini protests, showing herself without a headscarf.
She was the first Iranian actress to post such images on social media in support of the protest movement.
